NORTHFIELD — Pioneer Valley Regional School District Superintendent Ruth Miller said that she will be available at this year’s town meetings to explain the School Committee’s proposed budget for the 2019 fiscal year, after some School Committee members expressed concerns at Thursday’s meeting about whether the budget will be able to pass.
Committee members describe the proposed budget as “level-funded.” It is essentially the same as the 2018 fiscal year budget, but with a $10,000 “buffer” added.
Each of the four member towns will decide at its town meeting whether to approve its portion of the school district’s budget as a part of the town’s overall omnibus budget. For the budget to pass, at least three of the towns must approve it.
Northfield and Warwick both have their town meetings on Monday, May 7, at 7 p.m. Miller said that she would be at Northfield’s meeting first, and Assistant Superintendent Gail Healy would be at Warwick’s meeting until Miller could arrive.
Warwick Town Coordinator David Young, who is also on the School Committee and the subcommittee that deals specifically with the budget, said that he would also advocate for the district’s proposed budget at the Warwick Town Meeting. He said that he has also begun drafting a list of talking points for School Committee members to use at their own town meetings to explain the fundamentals of the budget.
Young explained that if the towns fail to pass a budget for the school district, the state will impose a revised version of the budget for the current fiscal year.
“That’s what we’re trying to get passed: a new version of our old budget. Same exact dollars,” Young said. “The most pressing argument I can think of is, vote for this because if you vote against it you’re still gonna get it but you won’t have funded it. You’re gonna have to have a special town meeting to pay for it. … My feeling is the only thing that will impede this budget from passing is people’s perception that the School Committee is not willing to do the hard things that need to be done.”